Shoku
is a faction in Koihime†Musō. Goal : To unite the country under their banner and achieve peace among the lands, while retaining their ideals. History Koihime†Musō : Due to Hongō Kazuto replacing Ryūbi in history, his Hongō Faction serves as the equivalent of Shoku in the first VN. : In the first VN, Kan'u and Chōhi were told of a prophecy stating the arrival of the Heavenly Messenger that will bring peace to the country. They soon found Kazuto fending off some bandits, and they immediately help the boy fight them off. After introductions, and Kazuto's vehement denial of being the Heavenly Messenger, they arrived upon a ravaged town, who recently had the Yellow Turban Army attack them. Seeing the devastation, Kazuto agrees to at least pretend to be the Heavenly Messenger to inspire hope to the people. Rallying a small army of men, Kazuto manages to fend off another attack of the Yellow Turban Army. In gratefulness to their saviors and anger against the Kan administration for not dealing with the Yellow Turban Army, the city gave Kazuto the position of Chief Magistrate. : Soon, a messenger from Kōsonsan arrives to ask for aid. The budding faction rallies together and aids the White Horse General, with Shokatsuryō joining them on the way, as well as first meeting Chōun. : The Yellow Turban Army eventually fell, and peace soon came to the land. However, this didn't last and rumors of tyranny from the Prime Minister, Tōtaku, reached their ears, as well as a letter, inviting the faction to join an alliance of rulers to oppose the tyrannical rule of Tōtaku, dubbed the Anti-Tōtaku Coalition. : Looked down on for being the weakest force, the faction faced great troubles in all the battles, leading to the capital of the empire, Rakuyō. In the Battle at Shisui Pass, they were relegated to the rear guard. In the Battle at Kōran Gate, they were the vanguard. Although they were instrumental to the wins to both passes, they were weakened significantly, but were still sent as advance scouts to the capital. This is where they first encountered strange people dressed in white, who revealed that the supposed Tōtaku Tyranny was just a way to lure Kazuto into the capital in order to kill him. At the end of it, Kazuto decides to shelter the former Prime Minister Tōtaku Chūei and her friend and strategist Kaku Bunwa. They, alongside Chōsen and Ryofu Hōsen, became part of the budding Hongō Faction. : After the battle, Kazuto's group takes in Bachō, who ran from her territory, after Gi's invasion resulted in the death of her parent. The faction also ended up in conflict with Enshō, the leader of the Anti-Tōtaku Coalition. But the Hongō Faction proved too strong for Enshō and they retreated, taking Riri, the daughter of Kōchū to force the veteran warlord to fight the Hongō Faction. Riri was soon rescued by the combined forces of Chōhi and a wandering Chōun. With the defeat of Enshō, Kazuto gained control over all of her territories, effectively making Enshō and her vassals nomads. Both Chōun and Kōchū joins the Hongō Faction, in the aftermath. : With only three factions remaining, the Hongō Faction, Sōsō's Gi, and Sonken's Go, the three were almost set to clash. Kazuto and Sonken agreed on an alliance with each other, and they both work to battle the growing strength of Gi. : Battling Gi was fierce, but it came to a head when Gi's personnel, Kakōton, Kakōen, and Kyocho approached the army, begging for them to save Sōsō, who became enslaved by Ukitsu's Brainwashing. With the aid of the three Gi Generals, they managed to defeat the enslaved Gi Army. Gi became subordinate to the Hongō Faction. : It was set to be peaceful, with the two remaining armies of Hongō and Son Go being allies, but Ukitsu managed to convince Shūyu Kōkin, strategist of Go, to start conflict between the two armies. The two remaining factions broke off alliance and began warring with each other. But when Shūyu's treachery was revealed, Go's army quickly fell into two camps. Those who stayed with Shūyu and those who joined Sonken in surrender to the Hongō Faction. The Hongō Faction quickly began marching towards the capital of Go and defeats the army there, only to find Shūyu burning down the throne room. : With this, the entire country became part of the Hongō Faction. Shin Koihime†Musō Shoku Route : Starting out as a small band of mercenaries, Ryūbi, Kan'u, and Chōhi soon heard a prophecy from Kanrō, and they head out to find the Heavenly Messenger who will bring peace to the land. They soon find Kazuto, and the four banded together to form a fighting force in order to help repel the Yellow Turban Army, serving under Kōsonsan, a former classmate of Ryūbi. It is here that they meet Chōun, Shokatsuryō and Hōtō. : After the war against the Yellow Turban Army settled, the group was given a small province to rule over, and they started increasing their forces. : The faction also participated in the Anti-Tōtaku Coalition, aiming to bring down the tyrannical rule of Tōtaku. : Although initially viewed as weak, the faction eventually grew to become a rather formidable fighting force, and were given new lands to rule. Gi, however, soon invaded the budding faction, forcing the group to migrate southwest, forming the region that is referred to as Shoku. : Here, they began shoring up their resources for the inevitable fight against Gi, forming what is to be known as the Three Kingdoms Strategy. Colluding with Go, they brought down Gi's forces down to the same level as their own. With some negotiations between Ryūbi and Sōsō, as well as the interference of an outside invasion, the three kingdoms of Shoku, Gi, and Go agrees on remaining separate kingdoms. Gi Route : During this route, the Shoku faction serves as the primary antagonist against Gi. : In this route, the faction that would eventually be known as Shoku is driven off from their original land by being in constant siege from Enshō and Enjutsu. They asked for Sōsō's permission to pass by her territory to get to the land that will eventually be nown as Shoku. Sōsō agrees on the condition that the faction hands over Kan'u to them, upon which Ryūbi refused. After the two's goals and dreams proved to clash with the other's, Sōsō angrily allows them to pass by with only the warning that her Gi will eventually come to crush them as well. : Shoku, from then on, openly plots against Gi, to try and destroy the threat. It comes to a head when Gi decides to attack Go first. Shoku and Go tries to fool the Gi troops into chaining their boats together, but, due to Kazuto's knowledge, Gi managed to turn the plan into their favor, by making the chains easily detachable. This plan resulted in Go's Veteran General, Kōgai, dying, and the loss of Go, whose people and officers retreated to Shoku territory, where they were granted asylum. : Shoku became the last remaining barrier to Gi's conquest, and was soon overwhelmed by Gi's sheer might. Due to this, Gi became the ruling nation of the continent. However, the leaders of Shoku and Go retain their positions as rulers of their locations, only now having to recognize Sōsō as their superior. Go Route : In this route, Shoku itself was never formed, instead being an faction centering at Joshū, as Ryūbi was never forced to migrate to the land that would eventually be called Shoku. : The faction is first encountered during the Anti-Tōtaku Alliance. Upon Ryūbi meeting Sonsaku, the two's conversation lead to an agreement of an alliance between the two factions. But upon Sonsaku's death, Ryūbi's faction decided to cut ties with Go, under the reason that they do not know the nature of the new leader, Sonken Chūbō. : This broken alliance led to animosity when Ryūbi grants asylum to Ryofu, a wandering general who attacked Go's capital during Go's time of weakness. Embittered by this, Go and Joshū became enemies in war. But before they could decide a winner between both factions, Gi attacks, and Sonken asks for an alliance between the two factions in order to repel their hated enemy. Agreeing to this, Ryūbi's faction and Go worked together and successfully driven off Sōsō, who retreated to another land. : At the end of the route, the continent is ruled by the two factions of Go and Joshū. Moe Shōden : The continent is united under the rule of the Three Kingdoms of Shoku, Gi, and Go, each country respectively ruled by Ryūbi, Sōsō, and Sonken, with Kazuto as the lynchpin and symbol. The leaders and key personnel of the Three Kingdoms, however, all live in a single centralized area, only leaving their trusted seconds to do the management of the territories, in order to remain close to Kazuto. Anime Series : Location : Members Koihime†Musō - Hongō Faction Shin Koihime†Musō Gallery Category:Factions